Armenia And Turkey Want To Become Closer Politically

Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan called on Monday for closer ties with Turkey, 15 years after the two nations severed diplomatic relations over the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

They are also at odds over the question of whether ethnic Armenians killed by Ottoman Turks during World War One were victims of genocide. Armenia and Turkey broke off diplomatic links in 1993, when Ankara closed the border and backed Azerbaijan during its war with Armenia over the Nagorno-Karabakh region, a mainly ethnic Armenian enclave within Azerbaijan.

“The improvement of ties between Armenia and Turkey is mutually beneficial,” Sarksyan told a news conference on Monday. “I think we should improve our relations.”

“The important thing is that in relations between Armenia and Turkey a trend is taking shape for being ready to start a healthy discussion of the existing problems,” he said.
– source